Surveys · alternatives
Alternatives to KoboToolbox
21 surveys tools sit alongside KoboToolbox in this directory. Below is what separates each from KoboToolbox on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 21
- With a free tier
- 12
- Cheaper to start
- 3
- KoboToolbox starts at
- Free, then $21/month
Why people look past KoboToolbox
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the KoboToolbox entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
Cost climbs steeply across the tiers
KoboToolbox publishes 5 tiers, from Free up to On request. Teams that outgrow the entry plan can find the next rung a large step, the KoboToolbox pricing page breaks each one down.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Field operations management for installing, inspecting and maintaining physical work
- No free tier, where KoboToolbox has one.
- Starts $18 a month dearer, at $39/month.
- Sold on a subscription model rather than Per month by submission count.
- 3 tiers to KoboToolbox's 5.
Research data capture licensed free to non-profits, and not licensable at all to companies
- No free tier, where KoboToolbox has one.
- Sold on a quote model rather than Per month by submission count.
- 1 tier to KoboToolbox's 5.
Open source survey software you can self-host, with German-hosted cloud as the alternative
- Sold on a Open source, with paid cloud hosting model rather than Per month by submission count.
- 2 tiers to KoboToolbox's 5.
Offline field survey platform priced by submissions rather than seats, built for research data quality
- Starts $204 a month dearer, at $225/month.
- Sold on a Per month by submission volume model rather than Per month by submission count.
Survey and experience management platform with a permanently free tier capped at 200 responses
- Sold on a Per user per month model rather than Per month by submission count.
- 4 tiers to KoboToolbox's 5.
Value-priced survey and experience management platform, rebranded from SoGoSurvey in 2021
- Sold on a Per user per month model rather than Per month by submission count.
- 3 tiers to KoboToolbox's 5.
Every KoboToolbox alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KoboToolbox (this page) | Free, then $21/month | Per month by submission count | 5 | |
| FulcrumA commercial offline data collection platform with vendor support and clearer service levels | $39/month | Subscription | 3 | vs KoboToolbox |
| REDCapIf the work is clinical or academic research with institutional review requirements | On request | Quote | 1 | vs KoboToolbox |
| LimeSurveyIf respondents complete the survey themselves online rather than being interviewed by an enumerator | Free | Open source, with paid cloud hosting | 2 | vs KoboToolbox |
| SurveyCTO | Free, then $225/month | Per month by submission volume | 5 | vs KoboToolbox |
| QuestionPro | Free | Per user per month | 4 | vs KoboToolbox |
| Sogolytics | Free | Per user per month | 3 | vs KoboToolbox |
| SurveyLegend | Free, then $15/month | Per month by responses per survey | 4 | vs KoboToolbox |
| Tally | Free, then $29/month | Free tier, paid for branding and team features | 2 | vs KoboToolbox |
| Zoho Survey | Free | Free tier, then per user per month | 2 | vs KoboToolbox |
| Fillout | Free, then $15/month | Per month by response count | 6 | vs KoboToolbox |
| Microsoft Forms | Free | Included with Microsoft 365, not sold separately | 4 | vs KoboToolbox |
| Google Forms | Free | Included with Google Workspace, not sold separately | 4 | vs KoboToolbox |
| Jotform | Free, then $39/month | Freemium | 5 | vs KoboToolbox |
| Paperform | Free | Freemium | 4 | vs KoboToolbox |
| Medallia | On request | Quote | 1 | vs KoboToolbox |
| Device Magic | On request | Quote | 2 | vs KoboToolbox |
| Zonka Feedback | On request | Quote | 2 | vs KoboToolbox |
| Qualtrics CoreXM | On request | Quote | 1 | vs KoboToolbox |
| Alchemer | On request | Tiered annual subscription published on the vendor site | - | vs KoboToolbox |
| Formstack | On request | Tiered monthly subscription published on the vendor site; HIPAA-capable plans priced separately | - | vs KoboToolbox |
| GetFeedback | On request | Quote | 1 | vs KoboToolbox |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the KoboToolbox badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (12)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- LimeSurvey , Free
- SurveyCTO , Free, then $225/month
- QuestionPro , Free
- Sogolytics , Free
- SurveyLegend , Free, then $15/month
- Tally , Free, then $29/month
- Zoho Survey , Free
- Fillout , Free, then $15/month
Cheaper than KoboToolbox (3)
Entry price under KoboToolbox's $21/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- SurveyLegend , Free, then $15/month
- Fillout , Free, then $15/month
- Paperform , Free
What you would be giving up
KoboToolbox is most often brought in for a rapid needs assessment after a disaster where enumerators work for days without mobile coverage, a ministry of health running a national survey that must be self-hosted in country for data protection reasons, an ngo running the same longitudinal household survey in four languages across three countries, a research group that needs a free instrument for a modest sample and an spss export at the end. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If KoboToolbox is broadly right and the question is cost, the KoboToolbox pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Surveys category lists everything the directory holds, and best surveys tools ranks them.
KoboToolbox runs on web, android, self-hosted. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about KoboToolbox alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to KoboToolbox?
- 21 other surveys tools are listed in this directory, led by Fulcrum, REDCap, LimeSurvey, SurveyCTO. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to KoboToolbox?
- 12 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: LimeSurvey, SurveyCTO, QuestionPro, Sogolytics, SurveyLegend.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to KoboToolbox?
- Yes. 3 of the alternatives below start under KoboToolbox's $21/month: SurveyLegend at Free, then $15/month, Fillout at Free, then $15/month, Paperform at Free.
- Why do people look for an alternative to KoboToolbox?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: cost climbs steeply across the tiers. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from KoboToolbox?
- KoboToolbox is most often brought in for a rapid needs assessment after a disaster where enumerators work for days without mobile coverage, a ministry of health running a national survey that must be self-hosted in country for data protection reasons, an ngo running the same longitudinal household survey in four languages across three countries, a research group that needs a free instrument for a modest sample and an spss export at the end. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to KoboToolbox?
- None of the surveys tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these KoboToolbox alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Surveys, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare KoboToolbox against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against KoboToolbox covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every surveys tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Surveys category, 21 tools beside KoboToolbox. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.